Comedian Kumail Nanjiani’s star is on the rise. And the speed of his particular ascent has caused time to move in a funny way.

It took exactly three months to book this interview. We’d go back and forth and back and forth via email with his assistant, Brad, chiming in every once in a while to suggest possible times we could meet. I’d confirm. And then threads would just… die. Then, when we finally did commit to a time, I was stood up. I arrived at Nanjiani’s new Spanish-style jewel-box home in East Los Angeles ten minutes early, so my husband drove us around the block a few times before dropping me off in front of a small but imposing hedge wall with a security door in it. I rang the buzzer. No answer. The next time, I held the button down long enough to hear a little chiming melody coming from inside the house. Minutes passed. I placed the miniature potted cactus I’d brought as a housewarming gift on the ground next to the door and tried to get up on my tiptoes and peek into the only window visible behind the hedgerow. An open tray of Oreo cookies sat ignored on the kitchen counter. No lights were on. Finally, I texted. “Hi Kumail! I’m here.” Seconds later my phone rang. “I’m so, so sorry! I fucked up!”

Given the nature of his jammed schedule, it’s a miracle this doesn’t happen more often. Ever since he appeared on Portlandia as “the cell phone guy,” Kumail has been booked. A quick rundown of his current projects: he has starring roles in three cable television shows: Franklin and Bash on TNT, HBO’s Silicon Valley, and Comedy Central’s The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, which he cocreated and on which he plays himself, and which premiered on the day we spoke.

In addition to the television gigs, he’s landed a feature role in an upcoming film starring Sally Field, and hosts two podcasts—The Indoor Kids, which is about video games, and The X-Files Files, about, well, you guessed it. As if that wasn’t enough, he also hosts a weekly stand-up showcase in Los Angeles and performs around the country, toggling between observational and autobiographical material, frequently cast through the lens of an outsider who didn’t learn English until he was eighteen. His recent stand-up special, Beta Male, covers everything from his love of horror movies to growing up Muslim in Pakistan. He’s a natural storyteller and comedian—and Nanjiani has a sense of humor in real life, which is surprisingly uncommon in the comedy world.

We sat down together the day after he forgot about me....